Feed roll drive for combing mechanism



OCt- 27, 1964 J. H. NYDAM 3,153,936 k FEED RLL DRIVE FOR COMBING MECHANISM Filed May 13, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet l his ATTORNEYS Oct. 27, 1964 J. H. NYDAM 3,153,936

FEED ROLL DRIVE FOR COMBING MECHANISM Filed May 13, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a /4 am INVENTOR. JOHN H. NYDAM BY MJL/QM* me...

his ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,153,936 FEED RLL DRIVE FOR COMBING MECHANISM John H. Nydarn, North Uxbridge, Mass., assigner to Whitin Machine Works, Whitinsville, Mms., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed May 13, 1960, Ser. No. 28,896 6 Claims. (Cl. 74-24) The present invention relates to feed roll operating mechanisms and, more particularly, to mechanisms by means of which the feed roll of a combing machine may have imparted thereto an intermittent rotation which is positive in action and is self-locking against rotation during periods of operation of the comber when such rotation is not desired.

It is to be understood that combing mechanisms generally involve the use of feed rolls which advance the material to be combed (for example, cotton) to the combing elements of the machine and this advance is to be accomplished in an intermittent fashion. In mechanisms for driving feed rolls in machines of this character which have heretofore been provided, diiliculties have been experienced in the character of the drive, and it is au object of the present invention to provide a drive mechanism for feed rolls of the above character wherein the feed rolls are driven positively in a desired fashion. More particularly, a further object of the invention is to provide a drive mechanisms of the above character wherein the positive drive is intermittent in a desired fashion and is also self-locking so that no movement of the feed roll about its axis may take place other than the desired rotation to accomplish the feeding of the material to be combed.

The foregoing objects are accomplished by providing a mechanism wherein the actuation of the feed roll is realized by relative motion of the feed roll in its back-andforth movement with respect to the frame of the machine.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. l is a view in side elevation, partly in section and showing certain of the elements of the drive mechanism in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a view in transverse section, taken in a plane indicated by the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

With reference to the above drawings, the frame of a combing machine is illustrated at 10 and is provided with a shaft 11 which is journaled in a pair of links 30 fastened to respective carriage arms 12. The carriage arms 12 partake of rectilinear movement with respect to the frame 10. The shaft 11 carries a plurality of feed rolls 13 which are adapted to advance the material to be combed into gripper jaws 14 in order that it may be fed into the combing apparatus of conventional form. The details of operation of the carriage arms 12, gripper jaws 14 and related combing mechanism form no part of the present invention. A description of a suitable arrangement of this apparatus is included in U.S. Patent No. 2,593,017, assigned to the present assignee.

In order that the feed rolls 13 may be revolved intermittently, a worm wheel 15 is provided on the drive shaft 11 and is engaged by a worm 16 which is mounted upon a drive shaft section 17. The worm wheel 15 and worm 16 are mounted in a housing 32. The shaft section 17 is provided with an over-running clutch housing 18 within which there is provided an over-running clutch 19 actuated by a shaft section 20.

The shaft section 20 is slideably received within a sleeve lCe 21 which may be provided with a cap 22 to serve as a cover for the protruding end of the shaft section 20. The sleeve 21 is mounted upon the frame 10 by means of a suitable bracket and connection illustrated generally at 21a. A spiral groove or slot 23 is formed in the periphery of the shaft section 20 and is engaged by a tooth 24 which may be journaled at 25 within the sleeve 21 or, if preferred, this tooth may simply constitute a xed pin. It will be seen that the spirally grooved shaft section 20 and pin 24 constitute a cam and cam follower arrangement.

As illustrated in more detail in the aforementioned patent, the conventional frame 10 has mounted therein the usual oscillating wag shaft 34 to which are secured a pair of crank members 36. The carriage arms 12 are pivotally connected at 38 to the lower ends of the respective crank members. As the wag shaft oscillates about its axis, the cranks 36 induce reciprocal motion of the carriage arms 12, and consequently of the entire structure including shaft 11 and rollers 13, housing 32 and worm elements 15, 16, 17, clutch 19, and shaft 20. The sleeve 21, which holds the tooth 24, however, is fixed to the frame 10 and remains stationary.

The over-running clutch mechanism 19 is so designed that, when the carriage arms 12, together with the feed roll and shaft sections 17 and 20, move as a unit away from the sleeve 21, the pin 24 causes the slot 23 to turn the shaft section 20 and, through the over-running clutch mechanism 19, impart a turning movement to the shaft section 17 to revolve the feed rolls 13 and feed the material toward the gripper jaws 14. On the other hand, when the aforesaid unit moves toward the sleeve 21, the over-running clutch fails to transmit the rotation of the shaft section 20 to the shaft section 17 and the worm and worm wheel 16 and 15 do not operate. There thus results intermittent rotation of the feed rolls 13 in one direction only and in synchronism with the back-and-forth movement of the feed roll and the related elements. The worm and worm wheel structure serve to lock positively the feed rolls against movement except that which is imparted to them as a result of the turning of the shaft section 17 by the shaft section 20 through the over-running clutch 19.

While the invention has been described with reference to the specific structure shown in the accompanying drawings, it is not to be limited save as described in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Intermittent drive mechanism comprising a drive roll, means to mount the drive roll for back-and-forth movement, a relatively fixed element, a drive member movable relatively to the ixed element, a cam and cam follower connection between the member and element to turn the member upon relative movement therebetween, means to mount the drive member on the drive roll mounting means to partake of said back-and-forth movement, means to turn the drive roll, and an over-running clutch coupling the drive member to the means to turn the drive roll.

2. Mechanism according to claim l wherein the cam and cam follower connection comprises respectively, a slot in the member and a slot-engaging pin in the fixed element.

3. Intermittent drive mechanism comprising a feed roll, means to mount the feed roll for back-and-forth movement, a relativey fixed element, a shaft slideably mounted in the fixed element, coupling means between the fixed element and shaft to turn the shaft upon relative movement between the element and shaft, a Wo'rm and gear combination in the feed roll mounting means having one member thereof coupled to the feed roll, and means coupling ,the shaft to the other member of the worm and gear combination to drive the Worm and gear combination only in response to rotation of the shaft in a predetermined direction.

4. Mechanism according to claim 3 wherein the means coupling the shaft to the other member of the worm and gear combination comprises an over-running clutch.

5. Mechanism according to claim 3 wherein the coupling means between the xed element and shaft comprises a pin and slot. y

6. Intermittent drive mechanism comprising, a drive roll, means to mount the drive roll for back-and-forth movement, a relatively Xed element, a shaft movable relatively to the xed element, means to mount the shaft on the drive roll mounting means to partake of said backand-forth movement, means coupling said shaft to said fixed element to rotate said shaft upon relative axial motion therebetween, said rotation being in one s ense in response to one direction of said back-and-forth movement and being in the opposite sense in response to the other direction of said back-and-forth movement, and further means coupling said shaft to said drive roll to turn said drive roll only in response to rotation of said shaft in a predetermined one of said senses.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 924,372 Peck June 8, 1909 940,089 Thompson Nov. 16, 1909 2,339,404 Hibbard V Jan. 18, 1944 2,556,010 Swanson June 5, 1951 2,963,915 Straub Dec. 13, 1960 3,029,672 Lowenborg Apr. 17, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,180,391 France Dec. 29, 1958 

3. INTERMITTENT DRIVE MECHANISM COMPRISING A FEED ROLL, MEANS TO MOUNT THE FEED ROLL FOR BACK-AND-FORTH MOVEMENT, A RELATIVELY FIXED ELEMENT, A SHAFT SLIDEABLY MOUNTED IN THE FIXED ELEMENT, COUPLING MEANS BETWEEN THE FIXED ELEMENT AND SHAFT TO TURN THE SHAFT UPON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN THE ELEMENT AND SHAFT, A WORM AND GEAR COMBINATION IN THE FEED ROLL MOUNTING MEANS HAVING ONE MEMBER THEREOF COUPLED TO THE FEED ROLL, AND MEANS COUPLING THE SHAFT TO THE OTHER MEMBER OF THE WORM AND GEAR COMBINATION TO DRIVE THE WORM AND GEAR COMBINATION ONLY IN RESPONSE TO ROTATION OF THE SHAFT IN A PREDETERMINED DIRECTION. 